


Stranded

by reylomami



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cause a stranded situation is what we need for reylo, F/M, Jakku, Mid-TLJ, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, The Last Jedi - Freeform, rating to be changed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-03-07 02:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13425267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reylomami/pseuds/reylomami
Summary: Alternate ending to TLJ. When Rey first comes to in the throne room, the Supremacy is on the verge of tearing apart and taking everyone on board with it. Rey cannot leave an unconscious man behind - let alone the one who had just saved her life. She drags him to his ship and escapes but gets hit by massive debris just when she realises that they were falling down to Jakku.Reylo stranded in the desert.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I've actually put this up on Fanfiction and got quite an overwhelming response. But due to personal reasons I could not update on FF, so I waited for my registration for archiveofourown to be approved here. So this will be where I am going to be updating the story! Update will come in multiple chapters at one go :)
> 
> Enjoy this gratuitous Reylo fic and let me know what you think/what you want to see/what you hoped for!

It had only been days when she last told Han Solo that she best be getting back home. When she had first uttered it, the idea of ‘home’ did not conjure up the image of being in the Rebel base with the other Resistance fighters. It was ironic then that Rey would find herself back in Jakku with Han Solo’s son now. 

Kylo Ren had not come to yet. Rey had flown the both of them on his TIE silencer, unsure of where to head to until they had been struck by massive debris just when she saw a nearby planet. The fall was a long one and the landing was brutal. Perhaps even fatal had it not been sand which they landed on.

The ship suffered massive damages that rendered it no longer functional. With the light going out, Rey was forced to make a campsite at the ruins of his ship for the night. She had set up a small fire, telling herself that he was going to gain back his consciousness anytime already. When that did not happen, she crouched over where she had laid him to check for any blood pulse. It felt odd to take the glove off the very hand that he had held out to her. The curiosity to feel his palm played over her head but Rey shook it off before she could entertain it. 

She held his wrist in silence, waiting for a pulse. When she felt it, another hand grabbed her wrist. Rey’s eyes shot up to meet his and her survival instincts kicked instantly. “Let go of me.”

To her surprise, he did. He sat up, his wary eyes not leaving hers until he deemed it safe to look around at their surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“You’re in Jakku.”

“How did this happen?”

Rey hesitated. But it did not take long for him to search through the most recent parts of her memory for an explanation. She was quick to block him out just as he had entered.

“Don’t do that again.”

“You saved me,” he uttered. “Why?”

Shaking her head, Rey answered, “I couldn’t leave you there to die.”

“ - That wasn’t going to happen,” he stubbornly corrected.

“The entire right wing of the ship had been cut off.”

“All the same,” he said, unimpressed. Having decided to forego the details of her intentions, Kylo watched her intently, eager to ask her a more pressing question. He struggles to stand up while a crouched Rey observes him warily. 

When she realises that he was headed to check on the ship to salvage what he could, she cuts in, “I’ve checked it all already - there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s wreckage.”

Had it been an officer of the First Order who had reported this, a force choke might have come in the way. Kylo Ren was not pleased to hear this. But having established the importance that Rey embodied, there was nothing he could do. With a resolved sigh, he looks over at her, her face immediately reminding him of the grandiose offer he had made, only to be met with an attempt to take the lightsaber from him instead. If he had not felt rejection as profoundly since the night that Luke Skywalker betrayed him, he felt it very much when Rey’s first instinct was to arm herself against him. 

He didn’t have to check to know that his lightsaber was not with him. Not looking in her way, he mutters, “Give me my lightsaber back.” He would not utter a plea to her from them on out. 

He missed the hesitation that appeared in her eyes. Rey eventually stood up and drew out his weapon from her back as she walked over to him. They were alone and stranded in the middle of nowhere, and if he was going to kill her, he would have to think twice about it. But the light in her convinced her that she could trust him - that she  _ should _ trust him. 

There were a lot of unsaid things that demanded attention, but it was not the right time. “I’m putting a lot of faith in you with this, Ben.” 

That name, again. A snarl itched on his face as he brought himself to look at her. “You already know why I wouldn’t finish you here and now,” he reminded. He took the lightsaber forcefully from her and tucked it in his belt. 

_ You’re nothing. Nothing … But not to me. _

Something about what Kylo Ren said made her heart sink while making her alarms go off. It took an enormous amount of humility from someone of his rank to ask or even  _ beg _ her. The temptation and desire to be wanted and to feel like she belonged was overwhelming. But images of her friends back with the Resistance conjured up before her eyes and suddenly she saw the other side of this loaded plea once more.  

“That vision you saw. I know what I saw too,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I won’t let myself be the one to turn.”

Kylo looks at her, anger and frustration raging in his eyes. “And what makes you think I will?”

“Because you killed Snoke. You saved my life. There’s no one restraining you anymore. Who will you answer to now?”

“Myself, of course.” It felt like he was spitting out poison. Saying so was liberating in many aspects for Kylo Ren. For a long time, he was finally indefinitely in control now. At least once he gets off this desert and back to the fleet.

He was quick to catch the hint of fear that flashed across Rey’s eyes. Deciding to take advantage of this, he takes a step forward towards her, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he scrutinised her. He didn’t need to know that she had fearfully blocked her side of the force bond in case he attempts to scavenge her mind again. “You knew it, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?” 

“Is that why your first instinct was to _kill_ _me_? Do you really think you can wipe clean the First Order if Snoke was no longer around and _I_ no longer available to assume power?” He was angry now. If she hadn’t known any better, there was a hurt from betrayal in his voice.

“No!” She protested. Rey was just realising how her actions have been wrongly interpreted. Despite so, she could not justify herself to him. It was her scavenger and survival instincts that propelled her to arm herself first. 

“Enough of the saintly act, you’re no Jedi - you’re just as flawed and vulnerable as your master.” 

“I had no intentions of killing you!” She pressed. “You know very well that I believe as strongly as you do in my version of the vision so as to not kill you.”

“There’s no need for pretension here, scavenger.”

“Was I to assume that you would have settled for a simple yes or no answer?”

He had not thought about it, but had she said no to him instead of reaching out for the lightsaber, would he have just let her walk away? Waving it off, Kylo Ren turned his back on her. “It doesn’t matter now. You couldn’t have made your answer any clearer.”

 


	2. Niima Outpost

The rest that first night was not a comfortable one. Both their senses were high on alert, excessively wary of each other’s backs as they tried to get some sleep. It took some time before each of them decided that it was safe to give in to unconsciousness. When Kylo’s side of the force had fallen silent, Rey knew she could sleep in peace. However, the sound of hurt and betrayal from Kylo Ren’s voice kept her awake. It replayed in her mind and the gnawing guilt kept her conscience focused on him. She knew she did not have to feel this way, having made the ultimate right choice over the wrong one. But he had long demonstrated to her how he could put aside his caution and  _ trust _ her. Could she have possibly lost it all just when she had just gained it?

Light began to peek from the horizon. There was no use in trying to fall asleep. He would be up by the time she could get any rest. Rey decided to make herself useful if they wanted to survive the day. 

Soon enough Kylo Ren awoke to the sound of clanking. It was still early in the morning but the bright light already made it difficult for him to see visibly. The first thing that came to his mind was Rey. Followed by his lightsaber. He felt for it, relieved to know it was still there.  When that was done, he finally shifted to face the source of the sound.

There amidst the wreckage of his ship he saw Rey struggling to pull out a dismantled metal piece from his ship. “What are you doing?” The sight of her got him to get up, striding over furiously to put a stop to it. As he neared her, he saw a pile of good pieces of metal and functional parts of the ship’s engine on the sand next to her. 

“If your idea of fixing the ship is to dismantle it, I’ve clearly overestimated you. Now stop it!” Kylo demanded just as Rey successfully pulled out a large piece. 

It was then that he realised that she had torn a piece from her clothes to make a headscarf. Panting, she pulled down the front part of the scarf to breathe while revealing a look of disbelief flashed at him. 

“I’m not trying to fix it,” she corrected him as she flung the metal work with the rest of the pile. “I’m gonna try to sell it if we want to survive.”  _ He wouldn’t know _ , she thought to herself _.  _ He wasn’t born into a life of labour.

Kylo Ren rolled his eyes. It was as if she could not see what he was seeing: an endless horizon of sand. “Yeah sell it to the night creatures that sleeps beneath, you mean?” 

She sensed his condescension and Rey decided she would not have any of it.

“No, there’s a town that way. These could get us something to live on for a day.” She turns her back at him and fixed the pile up for carrying.

“And I suppose you got an imaginary map that directed you to it?”

At this, Rey glowered at him, clearly fed up with his lack of usefulness. “You think you know so much?” was all she said. “This is  _ home _ . I lived here.” With a resounding sigh she turned her attention back to the pile of metal.

The revelation seemed to have silenced Kylo Ren. The both of them had both picked on how to close their side of the force bond and he was somewhat grateful for it. The new information was not shocking per se, but finding out something new about the mere scavenger that could skilfully wield the Force as well as he could was staggering. 

Unsure of what to feel about his reaction, Rey shakes her head and turns around. “Now if you want to starve to death, you can stay here. But I’m going to be finding some good trade-ins to last me the day.” She hauls the handle of the net sack over her good shoulder and starts to pull it behind her. 

Another blow to his ego, but at least it was not as demeaning as her rejection on the  _ Supremacy _ . He trudged behind her, and he knew she knew he would follow. 

“You’re gonna want to blend in without the cape. It might make a good air filter.” 

Kylo Ren was not one to take any orders - or advice - from anyone but the Supreme Leader whom he killed. But Rey had a point. He begrudgingly tore off his cape and made a headgear out of it now that he was left without a helmet to use. 

The walk was a long one, more than what the Jedi killer was used to. But there was no room to complain. They were going to get to town, get some supplies and he would then find some contacts to bring him back to the First Order. 

It did not take long for Rey’s good arm to be worn out from pulling the load of metal. While still ahead of Kylo Ren, she paused to shift the handle of the net sack over to her bad shoulder where she had suffered an injury from the fight in the throne room.

Meanwhile, ten steps behind her, Kylo saw her grit her teeth and swallow down the pain as she carried on. She was a hardworking and persevering one for sure. He had to acknowledge her for the times she displayed such unrelenting determination - even if that attitude had been directed against him. With his long strides, he picked up the pace to reach her side and take the handle of the sack from her. 

No words nor looks were exchanged as he walked ahead of her, pulling the load of metal with more ease than she did with her wounded side. Rey watched him, slightly stumped at this small act of consideration. Before she could let her mind wander off to analyse the meaning behind his actions, she realised she was falling behind and quickly picked up her speed. An act of kindness perhaps, but Rey could not afford to let herself be deluded or overestimate his odd propensity for goodness. She knew that he had already realised the importance of surviving on what they could if they both wanted to fulfill each of the visions they saw. Perhaps that was the only reason that propelled him to take over in carrying the cumbersome load. 

Kylo Ren carried the load all the way, ignoring the soreness it had caused to both of his arms. Rey had offered with a firm, “I can take over from here.” He merely ignored her and carried on as if he heard nothing. 

Hope and relief filled the both of them when a glimpse of civilisation could be seen. Their paces seemed to have picked up because they were among commoners in a second. Kylo Ren examined his surroundings with much skepticism. “You call this town?” There were no buildings but stalls and tents set up in shabby manners. 

“Yeah, this is it,” she said matter-of-factly. “Welcome to Niima Outpost.”  _ We need to be careful of using the Force here, everyone watches one another in the hopes of seeking an advantage _ . Rey led the both of them to Plutt’s hut, an overwhelming sense of unease dawning on her out of the blue. The Crolute must have thought her dead after having not shown up for a while. 

“Why, why, why, who do we have here?” Came the gruffy voice as the two of them stepped forward to Unkar Plutt’s counter. “Rumors told me you were left for dead.”

Not desiring for any conversation with the greedy, ruthless junk boss, Rey pointed over to their collection of scrap metal. “Scraps from a TIE Silencer.” 

The mere mention of the advanced ship piqued the Crolute’s interest. The outpost was meant to collect scraps from a war long forgotten. Not from advanced ships of the current war happening. Rey steadied her breathing, not wanting to give away anything. 

“And who is he?” 

Rey looked at Kylo Ren, whose face was still covered by his black makeshift headgear. “I - “

“I see you’re hiring your own scavengers now, eh?” Plutt cut her off, snarling at her at the assumption that his former scavenger was posing a threat to his business. 

“How many portions?” She asked directly, not wanting any more formality. 

Plutt roared with laughter as he rounded his thugs over to where Rey and Kylo Ren stood. “You think I will pay for that after you  _ stole _ my ship, you thief?”

Confusion painted her face until she remembered the Millenium Falcon which she and Finn had first hopped on to. “Guards, get them.” Rey reached out for her staff just as the thugs took another step closer to them. 

“You will send your guards away and let us leave with all the portions you have.” Rey recognised the voice. Her eyes shifted over and landed on Kylo Ren who had raised his hand towards Unkar Plutt. 

“I will send my guards away and let you leave with all the portion I have,” Plutt repeated monotonously. The guards, not being under the influence of Kylo’s force was left confused. And Rey immediately took over and put them all to sleep. A repercussive thudding of bodies falling onto the ground echoed around them.

Plutt slammed piles and piles of portions onto the counter, unaware of the body count in his hut. Rey quickly grabbed an armful of those portions, not caring about the excess left behind. She stuffed them into a more suitable sack that Kylo had emptied before hauling it over her good shoulder. “I told you not to use _ it _ here.”

“Hey,  _ you _ gave us away first,” he accused quickly as they headed out of the hut in a rush. She knew he was right but it was not the time to admit it. “If they sell ships here, maybe we can get one now and leave this dump.”

“ -  _ No _ ,” Rey cut him off. “Too soon. Plutt will come to anytime now. We’ll need to leave first. We come back tomorrow.”


	3. AT-AT

They arrived at Rey’s former AT-AT home without any conversation exchanged. It should have been unsettling to have Kylo Ren - Skywalker descendant and Jedi killer - stepping into the privates of her territory. But after the events of the day, she could not be bothered. She had trusted him back with his own lightsaber. Having him settle in her humble abode for the night was nothing. 

“Stay away from that side. There are traps I’ve laid out there.”

They stepped inside the body of the AT-AT and it became apparent that the place was too small for someone as tall as Kylo Ren. He scrutinised the place, left as it was when she had first left it unintentionally. There was a workbench with aging blueprints of ships, a time-worn hammock at the corner, and a computer terminal that did not look functional. He suspected it was in working condition however. 

There was a small collection of withering flowers that caught his attention. Kylo Ren went over to inspect it as Rey busied herself in preparing the bread portions. She mixed them with a few drops of water from a pitiable makeshift-tap that leaked water instead of running water. While waiting for the chemicals to react, she looked to find a suitable mat for Kylo to sleep on while she takes her hammock for the night.

As she busied herself, little did she notice Kylo Ren’s increasing intrigue over her humble collection of flowers. He desired to touch it, seeing how representative the collection was of her wholesome being. But he embodied the direct opposite of her being and if he were to make any contact with the collection, he feared the flowers might dissipate into ashes. He resolved to keeping his hands behind him as he inspected them. “Is this a favourite past-time of yours?”

Striking a casual conversation felt odd. Both of them were exhausted from the war which they have been momentarily spared from. A casual conversation could not harm supposed enemies who were accidentally displaced from the battlefield. As much as they cared to admit, they both needed it, especially if the only things they had in common were fertile ground for heated arguments.

“It helps to liven each day and bring me hope,” she answered, turning to the next bread portion to prepare. “It’s not like there’s much to do here.”

He did not want to pry, given how they have implicitly terminated their business with each other the moment she had refused to join him. But there was something fascinating about the light that spurred her each day to live and make decisions on her own. “And what hope is that?” he asked. It was hard to tell if he drew the question in a nonchalant manner or a contemptuous one.

_ To see my parents _ , she wanted to say. But they had both established that that was mere wishful thinking already. “Hope that I will survive the next day, and the next week … Your bread’s ready.”

Kylo Ren joined her and they both sat down to feast on the meagre bread portion. A day in the life of the scavenger, he mused to himself. The last thing he expected out of the war was to be immersed in Rey’s life before she had been sucked into the grand galactic narrative. The bread tasted stale and inedible, it was hard to believe that the girl in front of him had lived on these for almost her whole life. 

There was a long silence between them. Silence that was the result of their famished state more so than their different allegiances. For a moment, all they could hear was each other’s chewing, at some points drinking. Rey kept a reasonable supply of water which she had reserved very carefully back then. 

“Do you want more?” Rey had asked when she saw that he had finished. She normally wouldn’t have asked but they had an excess from Plutt’s hut. She predicted that they would not be stranded there for too long. Kylo Ren waved her off as if to say he did want more but he could handle himself. He helped himself to a portion and got it prepared.

Her answer to his question never left his head. It was simple enough yet thought-provoking for someone who lived life with the desire to enact revenge as opposed to the hopefulness of living another day. “What about hope for the war? Do you think you can make it out alive at the end of it all?”  _ Especially since we’re alone now _ , he implicitly said. The latter need not be communicated through any forms for Rey to pick up.

She paused at her food, watching him with wary eyes that later turned soft and almost welcoming to him. “I think you know my answer to that.”

Kylo Ren shook his head in convoluted amusement as he helped himself to his second portion. 

“Do you?” She posed the question back as she finished.

There was a thoughtful silence before Kylo Ren decided not to prolong it out of fear of becoming uncertain of his answer. “Of course,” he said, almost a little smugly. “Just not in the way you expect, of course. I’m fighting a different war now.”

“And what is that? Introducing a new order to the galaxy?” She was merely repeating the very words he had proposed to her. “How different will it all be if the means to get to it is the same?”

“You speak like the Resistance knows any better if they had the upper hand.”

“You, of all people, would know that,” she pointed out. 

The conversation stopped then.  _ General Organa _ . Princess Leia. His  _ mother _ .  She would know how to instil peace and order to the galaxy. She knew the right people to appoint. But carrying with her were the same old ideals that have already proven to be unsustainable during her lifetime. Proven by her own son’s turn to the dark side, perhaps, but if not Ben Solo, might it have been Rey? Would Snoke have crept behind Rey’s conscience and whispered false promises to lead her to the dark side if it had not worked out for him?

“We’re two sides of the same coin, Rey,” Kylo Ren stated. “Things will never be the same again. And one of us will be the one to make that change happen.” If the Resistance wins, he could not bare to think the results of it. Would he be long dead, or would he be a part of it? What role would he play? And how would the galaxy be any different from what it was before? Kylo Ren would not let himself think too much of it, having full conviction that his vision will actualise at the end of the day.

“We may be on opposing sides but if we’re both two sides of the same coin, we’re guaranteed to be inseparable,” she said objectively. “That means we come in a package deal.”

“Are you saying you will turn for me?” He asked once more, a temptful look on his face. “Because it sure does sounds like you’re reconsidering.”

“No, Ben.” She shakes her head. “I hate to admit it, but you’ve given me hope. My side of the offer will always stand.”

He gave her hope. The thought was a joke. But he did not understand how she could say it so genuinely. Almost as if she  _ believed _ it deep in her heart. “What? I give in to the Resistance and have my head beheaded?”

“Not unless we get to you first, still unrelenting.” It sounded harsh and Rey did not believe in this. “But I won’t let that happen for as long as I feel the conflict in you.”

Kylo Ren watched her, seeking for any signs of wit or jest. He did not want to acknowledge the light feeling she had caused him just yet.

“That makes us the same,” he concludes. “My offer still stands too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to comment or simply leave your mark here if you enjoyed this fic or not :)


	4. Weight

“Now if there are no ships that could go on lightspeed or at least take you far enough to be located by the fleet, our next best option is a little down west of Niima Outpost where most of the outlanders stop to refuel.” Rey dragged her pointed finger from one end of the map to the other. “There are bound to be better ships there, hopefully. Those outlanders have proven to be walking assets. I’m sure there’s something of value there that could take you back if Niima Outpost has nothing.”

Kylo Ren’s brows knitted in inquiry. “And you’re sure there’d be a handful of them for each of us to escape on our own ships?”

“Well - no,” Rey said. The plan to escape and return to the battlefield together was an unthinkable one. “We’d be lucky if we actually find  _ one _ outlander there. When we do, you go ahead first. I’ll know how to get myself back to the playing field.” 

Somehow Kylo Ren did not fully believe her. And he was right to think so. Who would give their enemy the head start; especially if their own bases needed them the most? The both of them were respectively the most valuable players in their own allegiances. The Resistance would be nothing without Rey. Kylo knew she certainly would not allow for them to fend for their own. But what he did not know was the small glowing tracker device Rey had that connected her to General Organa herself. A simple push of the button and her coordinates will be located from the other side and she could be saved.

“How terrifically ironic, isn’t it,” he drawled, “that the two people who get thrown out of the battle site should be us. And you don’t seem to be in a hurry to get back at all.”

It was him who had initiated a plan to steal the ships. But he had needed Rey’s familiarity with Jakku to materialise any possible plan. At his taunting words, the scavenger discreetly felt for the blue tracker in her holster. 

“Would you like it the other way round then? I get on a ship first while you find your way around this junkyard place if there ceases to be none left for you?” She challenged back. The last thing she needed was to have him find out about the tracker she held. The walls she had built up between their force bond had to be strong and stable so as to not give the slightest hint away.

Kylo nodded to concede, taking his eyes from her and back to the map. “Back at the outpost, there was mention of other scavengers around.”

“Yes, and?”

“Do you think they will be able to help us?”

Rey wanted to laugh. How little he knew of life in Jakku. For someone who slaughtered and oppressed on a daily basis, it seemed incongruent that he would want to seek help from lowly men and women. “I’m the best one that can help you,” she said frankly, without intention to boast. It was not in her nature. “No one’s gonna want to help us if you have me.”

Kylo gave her a look, prodding her to elaborate. 

“I struck my own the moment I knew I was being taken advantage of.” Relieving the memory of being ganged up against by other scavengers to her prime enemy was not a problem. It was the sheer loneliness that resulted after which made her hesitant to carry on telling him.

“They saw the value in you.”

“Now doesn’t that sound familiar?” Rey reminded. 

_ You’re nothing. Nothing … But not to me. _

Kylo didn’t return the taunting look Rey momentarily flashed at him. The look compelled him to explain himself but Rey had already continued on. “Anyway, that’s why I laid out traps around this place. Don’t want to be captured and enslaved overnight.” 

He watched her with a probing look as she began to gather the map and clear everything else for the night. “My offer wasn’t to enslave you, Rey.”

“I know.”

“I wanted the both of us to bring in a new order, introduce stability and peace like never before. Us ruling it - we’d be invincible, Rey, do you  _ hear _ me?”

She frowned at him, having paused at what she was doing. “I hear you. But  _ no _ .” 

The vision they saw depicted the both of them side-by-side, together - in some kind of peaceful state of bliss. But where exactly? Their differing views made it so difficult to think that such a vision could possibly actualise. Deep down they both knew that they had a unique bond that was beyond comprehensible. With it, Rey also knew she had to be wiser than before when discerning about her decisions for her actions.  

Her response seemed to have frustrated him. 

“What’s stopping you?” He demanded to know. “Is it the new family you found back with the Resistance?” Kylo Ren stood up now, slowly closing the distance between them. “You know they’re not really your family, right? They will all die one way or another, and you will be mourning people who’ve died for a cause they loved - not you. Hell, they probably never will think of you in the last moments of their lives too. The First Order will hunt them down to nothingness. And you will have no family left.”

He knew he had punctured her heart good. Rey’s lips had parted, fully taken aback by the candor of his words. He had not expected that she would give this kind of response. Her stillness only confirmed how right he was. Rey blinked a few times to manage to break eye contact away from him just so she could briefly think for herself without his words overwhelming her. 

There was Finn whom she knows cared deeply for her. But who else? She could only dare to hope General Organa has developed a certain kind of fondness over her that precedes any kind of warfare formalities. Master Luke Skywalker … it was hard to tell of a recluse. But other than them, Kylo Ren was beyond right. 

She  _ hated _ it. She hated how well he seemed to understand her deepest conflicts and desires like she was an open book. Something as complex as her indescribable sentiments were simplified when he put them into vocalised words. That tore her because she felt reduced to the small, helpless orphan once again. 

“It’s just you and me, Rey - “

“ -  _ Please _ . Stop it.” But Kylo Ren was not going to relent.

“You need a family. You  _ desire _ it,” he said carefully, keeping his firm gaze on her as if he has his prey trapped with his words. “I can give you that.” A playful glint flashed briefly across his eyes. “You didn’t save me solely because you hope I can turn. There were other things that motivated you to take me away with you, weren’t there?”

Rey felt a tremble threatening to show on her face. She willed herself to remain stoic before him, unmoved by his humiliating words. If that was how he was going to play it, she could give him a taste of his own medicine just as well. 

“Probably, maybe, I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure that you’re wrong about,” she paused, glaring at him now. “It’s not me who desperately needs a family. It’s  _ you _ , Ben.” And the rest was implicit knowledge: the First Order will never be able to give the kind of belonging he seeks. Even if they win this bloodbath of a battle, Kylo Ren’s thirst for belonging and approval will never be satiated by the dark side. 

She knew why he had the humility to offer her what may seem to be the galaxy. It was because he saw her as a hopeful candidate for a friend, more so than just a mere equal. They understood and connected with each other on implicit terms. It did not matter if they started off detesting each other: the mystery of their unusual bond shrouding their relationship was enough to suggest a level of dependency and trust in one another.

Her words have done the job. He takes a step back from her, as if threatened too by her presence. There was a tug in her heart to undo whatever damage she had done. Rey may have spoken the truth, but if it only deterred him from coming back with her, then she had done a disservice to the Force.

“And you do have a family still, Ben,” she sighed, shaking her head in tiredness. “Your mother, Leia - her wildest dream is to have you back with her.”

“You seem to forget that I killed Han Solo.”

“You said it yourself: to let the past die. That won’t matter anymore when you turn yourself in and fight  _ with _ us. You did not benefit from killing your father. If anything, it has only worsened that conflict in you, hasn’t it?”

“Enough.”

“ - I’ve told you. I’ll  _ help _ you.” She urged. There it was, the hope and earnestness in her voice. It irked him just as much as he felt unsettled by the pull of the light.

Rey had opened her mouth to continue but Kylo Ren had ignited his saber and slashed the space between them, cracking a line on the ground beneath them; a physical manifestation of his ill temper. 

“Everything I’ve defected from; the Jedi, my mother, the Resistance. Are you honestly so shallow as to think I’d so easily take that all back and return to them?” His eyes were burning with incredulity and rage. The sheer fullness of his voice daunted her, but she made it a point to put up a brave front in her stillness. The growing fear of him possibly slicing her into pieces with his saber could not be ignored however.

A pregnant pause lingered between them. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of his lightsaber. Shaking his head, as if realising the darkness bringing out the erratic side of him, Kylo deactivated it. 

“You wouldn’t know what it feels like,” he quietly said, avoiding her face. “Had I been born in the same circumstance as you - with no history, no grudges to bear - a switch might’ve been more plausible.” 

Rey held her breath. 

“ - But I carry too much weight to be able to let go so easily, Rey.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave your mark here and lmk what you think! :)


	5. Trust

After their heated discourse, the two clarified their plan for the morning then attended to do their own business in the small body of the AT-AT home. There was only so much to do on their own. It was not like they had any devices to busy themselves with. 

Kylo Ren attempted to busy himself with some of the spacecraft schematics Rey had, familiarising himself with any foreign models he had not known of prior. Jakku was full of outdated models from the previous war. But it only took awhile before his attention started to gravitate towards the only person from the other side of the place.

Rey had been attending to the wound she had suffered from the Praetorian guard. With her back towards Kylo Ren, she could focus her whole attention to her injury without any distraction. Her shoulder had been throbbing ever since the fight in the throne room. The pain had been exacerbated from dragging an unconscious Kylo Ren during their escape as well as from dragging the metal load to Niima Outpost before Kylo had taken over.

She tore a long piece of cloth and wrapped it around her shoulder joint with one end held between her clenched teeth as she did so. Behind her, Kylo Ren watched over his own shoulder. The old blueprints of old spacecrafts no longer of interest to him. 

Watching Rey attend to her shoulder brought about an unusual memory in his mind. He had jabbed Rey’s friend’s shoulder too amidst the snow in the forest. It didn’t take long before she herself did the same to him after. 

His eyes shifted to the lightsaber that had wounded her friend that night. Realising that he had just ignited it as a result of his incapacity to contain his temperament just a few minutes ago made his stomach uneasy. 

It was debilitating to comprehend the effect Rey had on him: a growing awareness for his temperament, for his capricious nature manifesting in crude ways … She tamed him, like a trainer would a beast. The idea had a nauseating effect on him and the exterior he had been building all those years threatened to buckle. But in odd ways, it quietly resonated with the core of his being too. She lured  _ Ben Solo  _ out of him, with only enough time for Kylo Ren to realise and squash him back into the abyss of his soul once more.

“Rey.”

The deep voice made her jump a little. She turned around to find Kylo Ren right behind her. Without uttering anything, she watched him unholster his lightsaber and extend it to her. He looked just like when he was offering her a proposal too good to be true. The only difference lay in his expression. It was blank and ambiguous. 

“I want you to hold on to this.” 

Her brow twitches in confusion as she reaches out to take it with uncertainty. The heavy thing weighing down her palm. “Why?”

Kylo shifted awkwardly before shaking his head. “Just until we find our way out of here.” Before Rey could say anymore, he was settling himself on the mat she had laid down for him. All fear of the dark figure wielding his saber at her had disappeared. 

-

He didn’t want to think too much into what compelled him to give up his only weapon to her. The girl too was unarmed. It brought a bit more peace to rationalise with himself that she needed it more than he did for self-defence. But that, too, was debatable. He knew he was trusting herself with something more - perhaps more than he trusted himself. 

Kylo Ren fell asleep with no fear of being slaughtered by her and his lightsaber. It was not in her nature. But he had thought of the same for Luke Skywalker before he clearly betrayed him. Nobody was immune to darkness. 

In his deep sleep, he heard the familiar crackling sound and a bright red light woke him up. The realisation hit him: he was wrong. She was no different from Luke Skywalker. He turned around from where he lay and -

“ _ Blurgh! _ ”

A body filled with fresh mucus and clumpy blood fell atop of him. The dead eyes of a Crolute stared right at his bewildered ones. “What - “

“Let’s go,” Rey said. She was holding onto his ignited saber. “They’re coming after us.”

He pushed the body off him and looked at it in the briefest moment. She had impaled the grotesque figure when he had thought she was going to kill him in his sleep. 

“Alright.” He nodded, taking her outstretched hand. “Let’s go.” 

 

It wasn’t too difficult to evade Plutt’s advancing group of invaders. It was not Kylo Ren and Rey’s force sensitivity that got them the advantage, rather the band of Crolutes’ lack of wit and speed allowed the unlikely duo to escape swiftly. 

Once more they found themselves walking in the middle of an endless horizon of sand. It would have been pitch black had it not been for the binary moonlight. The two exchanged no words, not even exchanges through their unique force bond. There was a tacit agreement to enact their plan for the morning at that moment. 

Rey still held onto Kylo Ren’s lightsaber unbeknownst to her. She was too deep in her thoughts, thinking about what could possibly be happening up and far above them at that moment. Was the Resistance faring well? The last she had heard of their situation was on the Falcon parked at Ahch-To. Her connection had been severed mid-sentence, presumably by a TIE factor having attacked the left wing of the ship. 

All at once she hated her situation. She wasn’t supposed to be in Jakku. She was supposed to be up there, helping them fight. Yet there she was, alone with the one person she should not have been with. It unsettled her to feel unsure about being in Kylo Ren’s presence. He had brought a strange feeling of comfort and peace at one point, followed by fear and apprehension after. Her situation with Kylo Ren was unpredictable and unstable, that was what she knew and it irked her. 

For a second, a flicker of darkness briefly passed her mind. She  _ could _ contribute to the fight. By defeating Kylo Ren. The realisation of the opportunity made her shudder immediately.  _ No _ , this was not going to work out and it was not the way she wanted to bring down the First Order. She was there to save Ben Solo and she was going to die trying if it would turn the tide over to their side. She was going to build his trust.

But then she felt the betrayal just when she thought it inevitable in their present situation. The opportunity had been taken advantage of. Not by her, but him. She felt her breath knocked out of her when her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She was quick to push herself up but she immediately felt his arms pull her aside and cage her in with his hand pressed against her mouth. She struggled to wrench out of his hold but it only encouraged him to tighten his grip on her. 

_ Stop struggling.  _

But she wouldn’t listen to him. That was it, she was going to wrestle against him on the sand before he could suffocate her.

_ What do you think you’re doing ---  _

Then she heard it. There was a noise, akin to a hunting or scavenging tribe, not too far away from them. They locked eyes for the briefest moment. If the situation had been different, their proximity and their position, his body caging hers, would have been a different kind of tension. She could basically feel his wary breath against where he had not covered her mouth, a few strands of his hair touching her cheek so faintly and the heat that emitted from their tired bodies. Strangely enough, Rey found herself feeling grateful for the urgent situation that brought them into this compromising position. 

She pushed himself out of the way with enough strength and looked towards the source of the sound while still on the ground. The band of scavengers was not visible but they were definitely within their vicinity. 

“Give me my lightsaber,” he called to her.

She shot him a look. “What do you plan on doing?” She had no qualms of giving it back to him, but if his plan was to sabotage the two of them unintentionally or not, she was not going to give it.

“Just give it to me!” He hissed. 

“No!” She rebutted. They could not afford a confrontation at this state.

“We’re in this together, aren’t we?” He frowned at her, his patience waning quickly. “We’ve been on edge ever since we landed on this damned planet, but now’s not the time to think about killing or defending ourselves from each other. So give it to me now.”

“I  _ know _ that! But we don’t need it now if we just keep low!”

“Oh yeah? I know what you were thinking just seconds ago, scavenger. You think you can kill me now - “ Her mind flickered to the briefest moment where she had considered her opportunity to contribute to the Resistance.

“How dare you - “

“You were  _ projecting _ , you idiot.” He knew better than to test the boundaries of their trust by breaching her mind. It was not his fault she did not know how to stop her projections.

“Rey, give it to me  _ now _ .”

She was shaking her head in defeat, her pride deflated as she hastily reached out for the saber. 

“ _ Over there _ !” They’ve been spotted by a local band of scavengers. 

“Rey!” 

She threw the saber to him but a fire shot was heard just as well. At first she thought the band had missed them. But little did she realise that it had been a deliberate move. A pungent smell rapidly spread and before she knew it, utter darkness blanketed her mind and she fell into deep unconsciousness. 


	6. Communication

Kylo Ren came to first. He felt an aching soreness throughout his body. There was something at the edge of his tongue. It tasted of metal. Upon some concentration he realised it was his blood that he was tasting. He must have cut his lip. How it happened, he was going to find out. In fact, he would need more answers too: his whole face felt like it had been beaten endlessly.

He regained clarity in his vision in a while. While he tried to comprehend his surroundings, he urged himself to recall the last thing he remembered. There was the sight of Rey fiddling to get his saber from her belt, followed by a strange, enrapturing smell coming from what looked like a can, and before he could do anything about it, Rey had collapsed before him from the intoxicating gas. 

Kylo Ren had lasted a little longer. Long enough to be held down by the band of scavengers. He had tried to fight them off but darkness was looming from the back of his head. It was a blow to his nose that finally knocked him out for good. 

_ Rey _ . He tugged on his end of the force bond, willing for a response. But there came nothing from her end. Yet he was assured she was still alive. Her presence still lingered at the back of his head. And he was relieved in a strange, twisted way. The realisation of his relief however sent a chill down his spine.

_ Goddamit _ . He should have left her when he could. He was starting to realise that giving his lightsaber to her had been a mistake. Kylo Ren still did not understand what compelled him to do it, or perhaps did not want to acknowledge the reason - whatever it was - fully. Had things been different, he would have probably been at Niima Outpost again tinkering on an about-to-be-stolen ship. 

_ Ben _ .

His brows shot up at the sound of her voice. Or rather the projection of her mind through the force bond.  _ Where are you? _

_ I can’t tell. It’s too dark. What about you? _

Kylo looked around his surroundings.  _ A small cell _ , he thought to her.  _ There’s a guard outside _ . Without thinking, he pushed himself up. It was only then did he notice his hands were bound together. The friction caused by the rope hurt his wrist and he frowned at it before shoving the pain to the back of his mind. 

As he approached the cell door, the guard noticed him. The guard spoke a foreign dialect that commanded him to back off. Or that was what Kylo Ren assumed. But he was not one to receive orders from lowly subordinates. Within a minute he had force-influenced the guard to release him. When the influence proved successful, Kylo Ren elbowed the guard hard enough to knock him out for a good while. He took the considerable effort to carry him into his cell and lock him in it in his place.

From the other end of his force bond, Rey felt his smug triumph.  _ What did you do?  _

But he ignored her question. He could sense her strongly then, especially since he was fully regaining his consciousness. The exercise of their force bond seemed to have strengthened their connection.  _ I’m coming to you _ .

He stopped at his projection. Had he not just regretted not leaving the scavenger behind? He could leave then and go back to his fleet and finish the war once and for all. 

_ Ben _ . He felt the urging tug in their bond once more.  _ Your lightsaber is with me.  _ That alone was enough to seal the deal. He was going to retrieve his lightsaber from her and leave for good - with  _ or _ without her.

As he hid within the shadows of the cavernous wall, Kylo Ren followed the tugging of the bond closely, allowing it to navigate and direct where he was supposed to turn. It was a miracle he had not bumped into any sort of guards. The only one he saw was the one guarding Rey’s cell. Again, it was too easy to knock that one out. 

“Rey.”

“Open this up.”

“My lightsaber.”

“No, release me first.”

Kylo Ren did not hesitate. He bent down to the guard’s limp body, felt for the keys and unlocked the cell gate quickly. Rey stepped out of it, her eyes darting from Kylo Ren to her bound hands. He didn’t have to ask for his lightsaber first to know that she would rebut about her tied hands preventing her from giving it back to him.

Ignoring her lifted hands to him, he shoved her to turn her around and started to feel for his lightsaber on her waist where her belt was. 

“ _ Hey! _ ” Rey elbowed him square on the jaw. “Don’t you  _ dare _ touch me.” She shot dagger looks at him. 

He scowled at her, muttering a curse below his breath as he rubbed the soreness on his jaw. “You’re becoming a huge pain in the ass.” He begrudgingly unbound her hands. “Now, my lightsaber.” He reached his hand out like he had on the  _ Supremacy _ . 

Rey merely grabbed his hand and pulled him away to get moving. “They took it from me.”

_ What? _ He wanted to blow up. 

“If I were you, I’d keep that temper in check,” Rey hissed at him. “I have a bad feeling about this. Where we are.”

They halted at another gate that prevented access to the remainder of the cave-like maze they seemed to be in. 

“Where  _ are _ we?” Kylo asked, noticing how their hands were still held together. He must have projected the thought because Rey released his hand immediately. Almost defensively. 

He caught a flicker of fear on her face. Just momentarily. But in that briefest moment, he read the depths of her memories. “We’re in a slave prison,” she said lowly. There was a familiarity in her voice. She had been in one of these before. 

“That’s easy. We’ll just get my lightsaber back and we’ll be out in no time.”

Rey was evidently peeved by his arrogance. “Your stupid lightsaber is locked and confiscated in the slavemaster’s office, okay?”

“And whose fault was that?”

“Yours!” She answered. “I threw it back at you before I knocked out.”

_ Fuck _ . He willed himself to take a deep breath and calm his boiling nerves. They would not have been in this position had he decided to go solo. “Fine. How do we go about this place?” 

Rey had only been in a slave post once. It was a brief time for she had managed to sneak out. Other lone scavengers had not been lucky. Some of them had said that they’ve been captured multiple times after sneaking out. It had only been a miracle that Rey, in her petite, hungry form, had been able to escape and never return. Until then, that was.

“There’s the guard captain roaming about this place,” she quickly said. “He’s got a key to unlock this gate. We can’t miss him, the last I saw, he wore an orange vest to stand out from the rest.”

Kylo nodded, looking over his shoulder then over hers. “If this is the only way out, we can separate and meet back here.” Rey agreed and turned over her heel to sprint away. He did the same but was halted when Rey called out to him once more.

“Ben,” she said. 

He looked over his shoulder, a brow perched up. Rey held their eyes together, communicating a thousand words that he could not decode. She pursed her lips when she broke the eye contact as if her mind was filled with conflict. He was going to prod but she had disappeared into a turning already. Baffled, Kylo Ren shook it off and directed his attention to his surroundings.


	7. Enslaved

_ He’s not going to leave you.  _

_ He’s not going to leave you.  _

_ He’s not going to leave you _ . 

Rey convinced herself as she set her own path. She had called out to him one last time before they fully separated. Her reason for doing so, she could not really say, but perhaps she was hoping to get some reassurance from him that they were in this  _ together _ . Just like he said. But she herself had already proven her unreliability to him. It was difficult not to suspect him of doing the same to her. She would understand why.

And so as she hid behind crates from incoming guards, she formulated a plan in the event that Kylo Ren did abandon her. She has escaped a slave post once before. Without the Force, she reminded herself. She could easily do it again. 

Yet her mind could not help but linger back to the hope she held for Ben Solo. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was the core of Kylo Ren; the trapped, neglected boy who had been wronged by lineage and circumstance. She did not have to formulate any Plan B. Rey was sure of Ben Solo. He was not going to leave her.

With that she shook off any thoughts of secondary escape plans and focused on finding the guard captain. Meanwhile, on the other side, Kylo Ren had just spotted a fully-armed Barabel in an orange vest. He knew about the Barabel species. They were physically strong, terrifying when armed. But Kylo Ren was Force-sensitive, and he only needed to mentally pull a cord in the Barabel’s mind and its bulky build fell to the ground. 

He struggled a little to pull the guard captain to a hidden corner where his body would not be discovered so quickly. The key came in a bundle, and they were all relatively large. Perhaps a comfortable size for the species. It frustrated him for the moment: he had not the time to compare the keys’ sizes. He grabbed the bundle and ran back to the main gate. 

_ Rey, let’s go _ .

He was reaching the main gate but the scavenger had not seemed to acknowledge his projection.  _ I’ve got the keys. Rey, it’s  _ time _ to go _ , he firmly called out. Kylo arrived at the main gate and started fiddling with the keys, trying each and every one of them into the lock. But there was no sign of Rey yet. Her side was eerily quiet. She must have been knocked out again. For a strong and capable individual, she was increasingly becoming a burden.

Never mind, he was just going to leave her. 

It took him awhile to try out all of the keys. When it came to the last one, Kylo called out to Rey once more. The key unlocked the gate with a clink but there was still no response from her side of the force bond. With one last look over his shoulder, he looked out for any signs of Rey. It was a solid five seconds of waiting before he decided she was a goner. She can handle herself, he thought. After all, he was better off on his own - she had only been holding him down. He pushed the gate open just when he felt the tug on the force bond. 

_ I found your lightsaber _ . 

Well, fuck him. _ Alright, come quick, I’ve just unlocked the gate _ .

It did not take long before he could hear footsteps coming from the end where Rey had disappeared from. She appeared with his lightsaber evidently in her hand. Kylo reached out for it but she was not going to give it until they leave through the gate together. 

Rey sped past him, and he closed the gate behind him, locking it tight and throwing the keys away onto the ground once they were a considerable distance away from the gate. Rey noticed it and stopped dead in her tracks. Realisation filled her head.

“What are you doing?” Kylo turned to her, an incredulous look painted on his face.

“I’m releasing the rest of the slaves,” she quickly said, turning on her heel to get the keys. 

“Rey, we’ve no time for this.”

“You don’t. But I do.” She unhinged his lightsaber from her belt and threw it at him. Kylo Ren caught it a little ungracefully, taken aback by her sudden ferocity. “Since you’re in such a hurry to leave,  _ leave _ .” There was an iciness to her tone. It dawned unto him that she had sensed him deciding to leave without her at the gate.

“Rey!”

But she had picked up the keys and was running back to where they had come from. As she disappeared back into the cave-like prison, Kylo watched her in sheer disbelief. _ The gull this scavenger has _ . He glanced down at his lightsaber and willed himself to go the opposite direction. He was not tied to a leash to her. She did not need him and he did not need her. That was what he had to learn. 

_ You’re making a big mistake _ . But his projection was met with silence. Rey had built up a wall between them to block any of his projections. 

Rey was very nimble and quick on her feet. She picked up the bundle of keys along the way with ease and swiftness. Her focus was dead set on releasing the rest of the wrongfully enslaved beings. She had passed them just earlier then when she was looking for the slave master’s office. No remarks had been exchanged between her and the prisoners. They looked worn down and fatigued from fighting each day to live within their cells. 

Rey had been too consumed by their looks of despair and hopelessness that she momentarily blocked Kylo Ren out of her head. She had felt him pounding on the mental shield she had briefly put up. It was evident that he had found the keys, but she did not want to reveal her stirring emotions at the sight of the prisoners. If he had any inkling of her inclination to take a bit more time to release the prisoners, he would have left her for good.

But even without that awareness he had still arrived at the same decision. Just as she had stumbled upon the slave master’s office, she had felt his resolution like a stung to her heart. Kylo Ren, on thinking of leaving without her for good, had single-handedly deflated the pining hopes she held out for him. To say she was deeply upset was an underestimation.

And so she had decided that she was not going to succumb to the pressures of her situation. When she had heard him drop the keys as they ran away together, she decided she was not going to be that kind of person. She knew where she was needed more urgently - and that was not the Resistance. It was the wronged civilians imprisoned in the slave post they were in. 

Pushing the image of Kylo Ren’s bewildered look at her to the back of her mind, Rey focused ahead of her. The next turn she made led her to the first of many cells that she had passed by earlier on. She threw the keys into the lock and left the gate open. 

“ _ You’re free now, go _ ,” she said in the local dialect as she moved on to the next cell hastily. 

Soon enough the place was filling with battered civilians, hurrying towards the direction Rey had pointed to as she busied herself with the subsequent cells. There were only three or two more left. She was going to easily release everyone in time.

“ _ Hey! You there! _ ” 

A group of guards appeared from the other end had.  _ It was about time _ , she thought condescendingly. But despite their lack of speed and awareness, Rey had to release the last two cells. She deftly worked on the locks as the guards began running towards her. They shot and aimed hopelessly at her as she managed to push the key into the last cell’s lock. They were inching dangerously close by already and it would not be long until they manage to aim and hit her. 

“ _ You’re free. Quickly now, go! _ ” She helped the last prisoner out. But the old being was limping and she had to protect him. Rey managed a force-push at the guards to buy them time. The effect only bought them ten steps ahead. Before she knew it, the guards were on their feet again, charging at them with greater rage and determination. It was then that she knew she had to stay behind to fend them off and buy the other newly released prisoners more time. 

She did not have her staff nor Luke’s lightsaber anymore. All she had was unarmed street combat skills and her still-sloppy grasp on the Force. That would have to suffice.

Rey fell behind the last prisoner and turned to the incoming guards with steely eyes. They charged at her and she managed to block blows and hits fairly well. Holding them off was challenging but not exhausting. It was being outnumbered that overwhelmed her.  She was holding them off well until someone had kicked down the back of her knee and struck a blow to her head, sending her falling backwards on the ground.

“ _ Bundle her up. Make sure she does not die. The slave master has special plans for her. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh.
> 
> Leave your impression and follow me on tumblr @batoracle or my reylo sideblog @reylomami!
> 
> xx


	8. Acquiescence

They had thrown her into a room filled with other female slaves like her: petite, of varying species, but definitely female. When Rey had regained part of her consciousness, she had tried to fend those handling her off until a fellow slave’s voice warned her.

“Don’t make this hard for us, kid. We’re going through shit just like you so just co-operate.”

“What are you doing to me?” Rey demanded to know. Her fiery gaze shot up at the Togruta slave who had just pulled her hair roughly to undo her buns. “ _ Hey! _ ”

“We’re going to groom you.” The Togruta nodded at the other two female slaves as they got to work. One of them pulled at Rey’s knotty robe and her arms flew up in self-defense.

“What? No.”

“ _ Yes _ . The slave master wants new servants presented to him before getting them to work.”  

Rey shook her head, determined. “You don’t understand - I have to get out of here.”

“ -  _ Funny _ . We do too.”

“ - No, the Resistance needs me!”

“We’re politically-neutral here. I’m afraid nobody cares.” Another hand pulled down on her robes and this time her upper body was almost fully revealed if not for some dangling cloth and her protective arms. 

Rey continued to rebut but the Togruta, looking weary already, shut her off. “It’s not going to hurt unless you follow along. Do yourself a favour and spare yourself any unwanted attention from the slave master.”

“Or what?”

“Do you really want to know?”

-

The binary sun had long set and Kylo Ren had not progressed much since he escaped the cavernous slave post. In all his honesty, he had no inkling of where he was headed; he only moved towards any form of civilisation. 

Had Rey escaped with him perhaps he would have had made better progress. The thought came as quickly as he shut it down. 

Kylo Ren had crossed paths with a temporary travelers’ camp when night time came. The brightness of their campfire lured him in and and he had decided to join them for the night for their resources.  

“ _ Where did you say you were from again? _ ” The local asked, peering him cautiously.

Having no clue what the local had asked him, Kylo Ren merely shrugged and lay down on the mat provided to him. For a desert clan, they were impressively hospitable. He, on the other side, was not showing the due gratitude. 

Soon enough they left him to his own mind. It was not hard to guess that they were sharing suspicions about him with one another but Kylo could not bother himself with them for as long as he was not in any imminent danger. 

Sleep was never easy to come to him, and given his circumstance, it was especially harder. There was the pressures of the First Order’s goals that consumed his mind. His personal desires to eliminate the Resistance and the Jedi. But ultimately, it was the conflict between light and dark in his head that kept him up and tired him endlessly. 

Just when he thought sleep was about to overcome him, a familiar figure materialised on the sand next to where he lay on the mat. It was indisputably Rey’s back and Kylo’s pupils dilated. She had not turned but by the way her back stiffened so subtly, he knew she was aware of the opening of their force bond. Rey was the first to break the silence.

“Having fun there?” Her snark mirrored his when they first met face to face.

“Not so much as you.”

Silence. Then came the ruffling sound of Rey turning over to face him. He should have expected being met with her steely gaze once more. Yet there was something about the way she looked at him that was ensnaring and he could not help his own surprise. In her gaze she spoke a thousand words - just like she had when she last called out to him in the caves before separating to find the keys. But out of those many unspoken words (or thoughts), the one thing Kylo Ren was sure of was the betrayal she felt. 

_ Don’t think we’re an alliance just because we’re both stuck here _ , he wanted to project to her. But Rey already knew that. Their behaviours and unintentionally projected thoughts already established how they could never fully trust the other as much as they would like. After all, when they were together, the war could very well end with either of them making the first offense right then and there.

“What happened to you?” He asked, having decided to forego the implicit thoughts. 

He noticed that Rey was not in her previous robes. She was adorned with some form of sleepwear. It looked tacky but it gave the impression of trying to be something. He dared not to think it, but they both knew it was flimsier than any sane clothing ought to be. In spite of it already covering her arms and the length of her legs. 

“Suddenly you care?”

“I don’t.” The answer came too quickly than he liked. 

If Rey had not been too preoccupied with the increasing loneliness she felt for herself, she might have thought his answer came almost too defensively. If she had not been overwhelmed by the supposed frankness in his answer, she might have also realised that Kylo Ren could sense the increasing fear she had for herself in the slave post. Rey, the scavenger, could handle many things - but the situation was gravely different. She had never been caught so badly before.

“This was on you, just to remind you.” Kylo shifted to lay on his back, his head up to the skies as he brought his forearm to his forehead. It was almost as if he was trying to push her fears that he sensed through the force bond to the very back of his head.

“It was the right thing to do.”

“At your own expense.”

“Well, I’m not regretting it.”

“Are you really?”

Rey rolled her eyes. “It does not matter. I should have accepted the fact that you weren’t one to care.”

This tested his patience for some obscure reason. Had they not reassured each other back on Ahch-To that neither of them were alone? “I did what I could, you only had to hold up your end of the deal. Which  _ you _ failed to do so.”

It irked her that he was not having this conversation while facing her. He almost looked uninterested. She should have expected it from Kylo Ren.

“Well, I would say I’d rather you killed me, but knowing those people are free now makes me think otherwise.”

Kylo Ren rolled his eyes. “What a saint you are. Do you regret taking me with you from the  _ Supremacy _ too?” He should not be continuing this bickering, but it almost felt invigorating if he were to be honest.

“I’m thinking about it.”

“For all you know, the Resistance might have won if you had left me there. What would they feel when they find out I’m still alive and breathing thanks to you?”

“ _ Assured _ , I hope.” The answer was unexpected. 

Rey, unlike other fighters, was not fueled by anger and revenge for wronged loved ones. She was fueled solely by the hope she had for the galaxy. 

Rey’s head turned at someone hissing at her to quiet down. Kylo Ren had not heard it, but the idea was implied. “Anyway, like you projected, we don’t need each other,” she reminded. “I’ve gotten out of here before, and I’ll simply do it again.”

This time Kylo looked at her.  _ They did not need each other _ . He only needed to hear it from her to resolve the conflicts of his decisions.

Mustering a determined tone, Rey bade him one last time. “Goodbye, Ben.”

Then she was gone. And suddenly a feeling he had not acknowledged before became ever present: the lonely, empty feeling came crashing into him like a tidal wave. 


	9. Incarceration

There were two types of slaves: the general workers and the servant girls or pseudo-concubines. The latter’s purpose was solely for the visual pleasure of the slave master. Apparently, when Rey’s captors said the slave master had special plans for her, they had thought there was a scrap of appeal in her looks. 

Uurga Rabba, the bulbous slave master that eerily reminded her of Unkar Plutt, had looked at her with slight disappointment when she had been presented. The other servant girls had dressed her in similar long white robes that cross-tied across her chest to the round of her neck, revealing a bit of the center of her sternum. Her hair had been pulled into a high bun like the rest.

She was at the brink of being dismissed but it was her feistiness that piqued the slave master’s interest. From the moment she exhibited the slightest form of resistance, the slave master then knew that it would bring him great pleasure to tame her so publicly. Where other servant girls merely assembled the slave master’s feast table or did his room, Rey’s hands were bound with a long chain and she was subject to stay by the slave master’s side and feed him during slave tournaments.

Within a small, cavernous arena, the slave tournament was the only real form of entertainment that both slaves and owners could enjoy together. In a bid for better living conditions, slaves would fight another slave bidder to their near-deaths. It was a grotesque and unruly sight, and it baffled Rey as to how so many of them could find so much sadistic entertainment from it - fellow slaves, included. 

It was during moments when an unsightly blow disfigures the other fighter’s face when Rey would mentally recoil and accidentally undo the wall she had been keeping up between her and Kylo Ren. He would have the decency to ask but she would shut him out just before he could complete his question. She liked to think his question was a mere formality that seemed too ridiculous given their circumstance.

If there was one thing Rey was grateful for about her post, it was that no sexual advancements were being made towards her. Perhaps the usual unwanted looks, but nothing more. It might have been her scrawny frame that did the job, but even she knew that her frame could only repel so much, given the eye-fetching robes servant girls were dressed with. 

It had been two days since she was captured for good. Since Kylo Ren had left her to fend for herself. Rey had come up with a couple of escape plans but had to postpone them whenever she learned a new piece of information. 

Korra, the Togruta that had first attended to her, kept on changing the information she gave her. It dawned on Rey soon enough that the standard operating procedures within the slave post rotated with every passing day, making it all harder for her to properly formulate an escape route. 

The daily grind was becoming repetitive and it was easy to fall into the rote nature of her job. Feeding Uurga on his makeshift throne to pacify him seemed fine enough, especially when his larger than life mouth expanded so much whenever he laughed at the fight going on before them. It was a no-brainer job that gave her ample mindspace to observe and think of her escape plan. It soon escaped her as well that with the force bond tightly sealed, there was no Kylo Ren to muddle her thoughts. She learned to revel in that fact soon enough, having long accepted that whatever implicit understanding they had about each other did not matter anymore. 

The third night she settled next to Korra as usual in the servant girls’ cell. It was a packed cell but with organisation, each servant girl had the space that they could lie within comfortably. Rey had been fiddling with the force-suppressor that clung to the skin below her neck. Like the other things in the slave post, it was a tacky little tracking device that did more than it looked. 

Rey had tried to lift objects but she could feel the device suppressing her powers. The lamp she was practising on had only hovered shakily by an inch before dropping back to its position. The force-suppressor struck her as particularly odd given how little force-users there were. The device must have been salvaged from the old ships from the old war that relied heavily on force-suppressants. 

“It’s clung deep into your nerves, I suggest you stop fiddling with that.”

Rey looked over her shoulder at Korra. “How do I take it out?”

“You don’t,” Korra answered, shifting groggily. “Only Uurga’s print can undo it.”

Ideas flew past Rey’s mind. “Just a push of it with his finger will do?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“How did you know?”

“You’re not the only servant girl who had escaped his side, Rey.” The thought made her feel incompetent. If non-users had escaped before, it should not take her too long too. “The side chick role is the best position to escape in, to be honest.”

Flinching a little at the term ‘side chick’, Rey released her hold of the metal that clung to her neck. 

“Some say you can unlock it if you know how to configure its circumference. I’m not so sure about that though.”

“Would the guards know anything about it?”

“Dunno.”

Silence fell between them once more.

“Korra, why do you stay?”

“Because I have nowhere else to go.” Somehow the answer did not surprise the former-scavenger. “I’m treated decently here for as far as I’ve known what decency means.”

It was evident that the Tortuga did not wish to pursue the conversation further. Sleep was taking over but Rey asked anyway, “Will you help me escape?”

Korra looked at her. There was a hint of a challenge that pulled the Togruta to life. But that light extinguished quickly. “I would, but no.”

Rey’s face fell. “Why not?”

“They’ve doubled the guards ever since the mass release of slaves from the other side.” 

She could feel Korra’s eyes land on her contemptuously. The two had become civil to the point of friendly with each other over the past few days. Having learned of Korra’s past, a mere exile trying to find life away from her former home, Rey knew she could confide in her. Hence why the Togruta knew of the things she did that led to her capture. Most of it, anyway.

“But it’s not that alone,” Korra continued. “New slaves were brought in just today. They were sold to Uurga with an ominous mark of caution.”

“Why?”

“Dunno. The sellers seemed eager to leave with the money - not wanting anything else to do with the transaction.”

-

Rey awoke to an incessant thudding on the mental shield she had held up between her and Kylo Ren. He was trying to get through. It felt urgent and in need but Rey decided to ignore it, strengthening her hold of the mental shield further. 

_ They did not need each other. _ Whatever reason he wanted to talk to her for, she was not going to entertain it.

As the day passed, Rey’s mind was fixated on getting Uurga’s print on the device on her upper neck. When he wasn’t frantically waving his hand in excitement from the duel, she would try to bend low enough, as if to pick up more fruits, to position her neck to the open end of his finger. It was a ridiculous sight but she had to try.

Her efforts failed miserably however. The bulbous being was too engrossed and entertained by the duel. His physical reactions to it made it impossible to have him sit still. When an almost fatal blow was thrown at the other fighter, Uurga flung both his arms up so high in excitement. 

“Ha! Good one! Give the slave the best cell we’ve got!” 

Rey watched the limp body that had fallen to the ground. A pool of blood started to expand beneath the body and her face contorted into a sad, disgusted frown.

“I think he’s dead!”  

Uurga looked at her briefly with a contemptuous look. “What does it matter to you, girl?” The question reminded her eerily of her last conversation with Kylo Ren.

Before she could bite back her words, she cried, “What is  _ wrong _ with you?” 

This took the slave master aback. But the surprise was soon replaced with anger. “You don’t speak to me that way. You  _ never _ speak, you hear me?”

Rey kept her staunch glare at him.

“Stubborn girl,” Uurga muttered. 

When Rey thought he had decided to let it go, she was met with a surprise crashing sound. The slave master had thrown the large bowl of fruits aside, letting it all tumble and crash down over to the small arena before them. 

“Pick them up!” He shouted at the slaves who were in the middle of preparing the space for the next duel.

Uurga shifted his glare at Rey then. “You,” he said. “You watch your mouth or I won’t be so nice anymore.  _ Get me more food! _ ” His full, beastly voice made her stumble a couple of steps back. But her scowl never left her face as she turned to get more food. 


End file.
